Thursday, October 22, 2015

One may not easily
identify him – just as we could of Rohit Sharma or Axar Patel. At Chepauk on a slow pitch, India edged out SA
…. Jason Day is an Australian
professional golfer and PGA Tour member. Day first broke into the world's top
ten in June 2011, rising to world number nine after his runner-up finish at the
U.S. Open. In Sept 2015, Day reached
World Number 1 in the World Golf Ranking.

Jason Day has won
the Don award for the most inspiring Australian sports performance in the past
year, a prize accepted by the golfer's mother at the Sport Australia Hall of
Fame dinner. On Monday morning AEST,
Jason Day, the world number 1 golfer, shot a 68 in the final round of the Tour
Championship. Rival Jordan Spieth shot a 69. Yet Spieth won the tournament, and
with it, usurped Day's number 1 ranking. To add insult to injury, Spieth's win
saw him take the FedEx Cup bonus, adding a tidy $US10 million ($14.24 million)
to his $US1.4 million ($2 million) tournament prize money.

Yes the stakes are
high – it is rich men’s game ! – it is a game where you have Caddie, a person
who would carry the player’s bags and clubs.
A good caddy is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course
being played, along with the best strategy in playing it ~ and the game ‘ Golf ’ is a club and ball sport in which players use
various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes
as possible. The game is played on a course
with an arranged progression of either nine or 18 holes. Each hole on the
course must contain a tee box to start from, and a putting green containing the
actual hole. Golf is played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual,
known as stroke play, or the lowest score on the most individual holes in a
complete round by an individual or team, known as match play. The levels of grass are varied to increase
difficulty, or to allow for putting in the case of the green.

Miles away in
China, the Chinese Communist Party has
banned all 88 million of its members from joining golf clubs, in its latest
update of party discipline rules. Extravagant eating and drinking, and abuse of
power, are also formally banned, said Xinhua news agency.

BBC reports that the party has in the past warned its officials to refrain
from extravagant dinners and purchasing moon cakes using public funds. China
has been conducting a strict anti-corruption drive since 2012. The new rule on
golf states that members are banned from "obtaining, holding or using
membership cards for gyms, clubs, golf clubs, or various other types of
consumer cards, or entering private clubs". If caught, members could
either receive a warning or be removed from the party, depending on the
severity of the violation.

The
new regulations (in Chinese) did not explain why the joining of golf clubs is
banned, but such clubs are often seen by the Chinese public as places where
officials have cut shady deals. In
September, local media reported that at least 60 employees in state-owned
companies were punished for spending public funds on playing golf. Earlier this
month, Lin Chunsong, a vice-mayor in the south-eastern Fujian province, was
sacked for belonging to a golf club and playing golf while he should have been
at work.

China announced a ban on building new golf courses in 2004; however, the ban has not always been enforced, and state media
say the number of golf courses in China increased from 200 in 2004 to 600 in
2015. One
owner of a golf equipment store in Shanghai, stated that it was "about the
social interaction", "If a company boss can't play with a government
official, there's little point in him spending his money." Another new
rule states that party members cannot "violate official provisions on
hospitality management and engage in over-the-top entertaining, or take
advantage of opportunities for extravagant eating and drinking".

The
Communist Party has also rephrased a previous clause banning adultery and
mistresses, which now says that members are banned from "having improper
sexual relations with other people which have bad repercussions". The
party's strict rules for officials have in the past affected business for
restaurants and luxury goods retailers in China and elsewhere.

President
Xi Jinping has led a major anti-corruption campaign since taking office three
years ago. He has previously warned of unrest if corruption and perceived
privilege within the Communist Party are not tackled.